Dan Auerbach's revue a big treat

jaymiller

Monday

Mar 26, 2018 at 4:22 AMMar 26, 2018 at 6:35 AM

Two things seemed obvious from Sunday night's concert by Dan Auerbach and the Easy Eye Sound Revue at the House of Blues in Boston; the Black Keys guitarist's exploration of American roots music is ever more intriguing, and soul singer Robert Finley is an absolute showstopper.

Auerbach and his six-man backing band of studio all stars delivered a charming and at times exhilarating 22-song set before about 1800 fans at the House of Blues, showcasing both his enticing guitar skills, surprisingly evocative vocals, and that stellar band. The night also included a major guest segment during the main set from Finley, the 60-something blind singer Auerbach has basically discovered, as well as opening act Shannon and the Clams, a quartet that puts a delightfully skewed spin on classic 1960s girl group pop.

Since the Black Keys took a hiatus a couple years back, Auerbach, 38, has enjoyed recording with and producing a variety of other acts. Finally he founded his own Easy Eye Sound label and began signing talent, and recording them in his Nashville studio. The backing sextet, including keyboard master Bobby Wood, drummer Gene Chrisman, Russ Pahl on guitar, Dave Roe on bass, and Pat McLaughlin on mandola and percussion and assorted instruments, consists of the main core of the band used to record Auerbach's latest album, “Waiting on a Song,” released just this month. The new CD features some serious luminaries making guest appearances, including songwriter John Prine, guitar legends Duane Eddy and Mark Knopfler, and dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas.

The early impression listeners would get from Sunday's set was how wonderfully Auerbach's vocals have improved, and become quite evocative, even as they maintain his casual, laidback feel. The title cut “Waiting on a Song,” with its easy midtempo groove that gradually grew into rock 'n' roll, showcased Auerbach's confident command of both his guitar and his vocals. During the strolling swing of “Malibu Man,” the band boasted a four-guitar attack, although the interplay between Auerbach and Pahl was the most energizing aspect.

There's a lot about the new Auerbach album that suggests a revisiting of 1960s pop, and “Livin' In Sin” displayed that by updating bouncy guitar pop, almost-but-not-quite rockabilly. “Cherrybomb” molded a vaguely ominous start into a subtle soul-rock groove, but without losing that underlying psychedelic coloring. A new song, “Pull Me Under, Love,” suggested the spacey period of the Beatles, bright airy pop that somehow had a weird underpinning. But the lilting acoustic ballad, “King of a One Horse Town,” with Wood's hypnotic electric piano figure, was yet another example of Auerbach's artfully understated vocal skill.

Opening act singer Shannon Shaw joined the group for two songs, and the slow ballad “Cold Pillow” worked well with its doo-wop backup vocals, but the more conventional rocker “Broke My Own” kind of overpowered Shaw. Auerbach was back on acoustic guitar for another standout vocal, on the ballad “Never in My Wildest Dreams,” which might have convinced some music mavens he could forge a new career as a country crooner.

But the show hit a definite high point when Finley hit the stage, resplendent in his black leather pants, black leather hat, and gaudy red shirt, for “Medicine Man,” from his album, “Goin' Platinum.” That fiery soul-rocker, written for the singer by Auerbach, Wood, and Roger Cook, was enough of a scorcher, but Finley's full-throated, move-over-Otis Redding vocal had the throng roaring in approval. The musical framework shifted to a quasi-Led Zeppelin foundation for “Three Jumpers,” an Auerbach tune Finley turned into a thunderous revival meeting. “Holy Wine,” another tune from Finley's album, was a quintessential soul anthem, which the singer explained Auerbach had challenged him to sing entirely in his dazzling falsetto.

A bit later Auerbach's Trouble Waits For You,” from his first solo album, showcased his traditional country-blues chops. The smooth rock 'n' soul of “Undertow” brought more of that subtle psychedelic aspect into the mix, before the band injected some more of that Led Zep flavor into J.J. Cale's “Don't Go To Strangers.” The joyous affirmation of “Stand By My Girl,” and the rollicking romp “Shine On,” which evoked classic Traveling Wilburys, ended the regular set on a triumphant note.

The three-song encore segment began with Finely turning the old bistro into a gospel tent with “All My Hope,” before yanking us all back to more secular concerns with the searing “Get It While You Can.” Auerbach ended the night with a solo, acoustic take on “Goin' Home, ” a warm and heartfelt ending to a night of classic American music.

Shannon and the Clams' forty minute opening set proved their version of girl group pop goes in some extraordinary new directions. “Onion” was a buoyant revival of girl-group-type vocal harmonies, and yet still skewed in an almost indefinable way. There was an Everly Brothers aura to “You Let Me Rust,” both in the vocals and the neatly textured guitar and keyboard arrangement. “Trippin'” took the basic swirling, '60's psychedelic organ foundation and cranked it out at a dizzying pace that probably had some fans looking for Dramamine. But Shannon Shaw's vocal ability was most evident on the slow, torchy ballad “Did You Love Me?” which again seemed sort of standard, but also kind of off-kilter, in another example of this quartet's skill at mixing emotions